Mufti Hassoun: Syria and Russia are in the same ditch

Moscow, SANA – Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Badr-Eddin Hassoun stressed that Syria and Russia are “in the same ditch” because the chaos erupting in the world “targets all of us.”

The Mufti’s remarks came during his meeting with Head of Fair Russia Party and its parliamentary bloc in the Russian State Duma Sergei Mironov in Moscow on Wednesday.

He lashed out at the US and western countries who “have involved themselves in a new war” making the factors of race and religion its axis, recalling the wars in Yugoslavia and Chechnya and the attempts of inciting the communities who speak Turkish into calling for separation from Russia.

He blamed Turkey for arming gunmen in Chechnya, Libya, Tunisian mountains and in Syria overtly, in addition to providing training to foreign mercenaries.

Mufti Hassoun wondered about the point of having gunmen coming from 83 countries fighting in Syria.

“They have gathered them under the umbrella of religion…They misled them into making them believe they were to build an ‘Islamic State’ and they are training them in Turkey,” he said, questioning “why should this be in Syria but not in Turkey, which is a NATO member?”

He stressed that Syria has been able to stand in the face of those for four years thanks to the awareness and wisdom of its leadership and the honorable supportive stance of Syria’ friends in Russia and China at the international forums.

For his part, Mironov stressed that Russia and the Russian people will continue to support Syria, which is combating the western conspiracy, touching upon the Turkish role in backing the terrorist organizations that are fighting in Syria.